Atsuko Toda

Senior Director, Entrepreneurship Development, Pan-African Programs at Mastercard Foundation

Speaker

Atsuko is a seasoned development sector professional with over 24 years of experience with international institutions across Africa and Asia. Prior to joining the Mastercard Foundation, she was the Director of the Agriculture Finance and Rural Infrastructure at the African Development Bank Group (ADB) for over six years. Her mandate was to lead the Bank’s effort to mobilize and invest in private sector agribusinesses working in rural areas to transform agricultural value chains and support rural development. She was responsible for the Bank’s investments in private sector agribusiness companies, mainstreaming disaster risk finance, innovative finance for agri-SMEs and development of Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones across the continent. Before joining ADB, Atsuko worked at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), with a focus on rural development projects, managing country programs in Vietnam, Laos and Nepal. From 2012-2016, Atsuko served as IFAD Nigeria Country Director, where she was credited for more than doubling the organization’s portfolio in rural communities. Atsuko brings extensive experience in managing in diverse cultural working environments and building client-oriented, highly motivated, performance-driven teams